(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to UV treatment of waste water from septic tank systems and more particularly to an improved means maximizing the effectiveness of the UV light, establishing safety protection for maintainers, and provision of remote control and monitoring the effectiveness of the process and method therefore.
(2) Description of Related Art including Information Disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
It has been long established that wastewater from septic systems needed to be purified before passing it to the drain field. Originally, the effluent was treated by exposure to the air with various types of filtering, such as T. Carlson U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,781, Jowett et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,513, and Vandervelde U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,896. Various efforts at increasing the aerobic biodegradation process, such as agitation, R. E. Stuth U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,602, or ozonating the wastewater, J. LaRaus U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,040 were tried. Finally, chlorination was used to purify the waste water, which had to be de-chlorinated before discharge.
The foregoing pre-treatment methods are effective at removing from 70% to 85% of the harmful microorganisms. It is now known that irradiation of the wastewater with Ultraviolet can complete the purification process and is particularly effective at eliminating E.Coli and various forms of fecal coli form bacteria.
Previous attempts to apply UV treatment to septic system wastewater have involved either broad band UV illumination, A. Wekhof U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,146 or elaborate re-treatment of the wastewater, International Patent WO 84/03880, or combining agitation, European Patent No. EP 202,820, or ultrasound cleaning of the UV light cover, E. A. Pedziwiatr U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,368. All of the foregoing are discussed in applicants' U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,775 B1.
Previous attempts to satisfy the objects of the present improvement have entailed remote monitoring, E. E. Koslow, U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,672B2, H. Kozlowski, U.S. Pat. No. 2002/0070177A1, and R. E. Culp, U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,578. Additional efforts have included lining the inner surface with reflective material, W. Vitt, U.S. Pat. No. 6,552,351 B2, and access means to maintain the UV light, G. K Bowman U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,966 and T. L. Coots U.S. Pat. No. 6,217,752B1.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant improvement invention as claimed.